


Cuddling Prompts 15. In the Dark

by amethyst-noir (Arbonne)



Series: Cuddling Prompts [15]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Chronic Pain, Comforting Stephen Strange, Established Relationship, Exhaustion, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Caretaking, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 10:30:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21444778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arbonne/pseuds/amethyst-noir
Summary: It's Stephen's turn to take care of Tony. If only Tony would make it easy...
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Series: Cuddling Prompts [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1533584
Comments: 12
Kudos: 137





	Cuddling Prompts 15. In the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this one got long. Also, in a complete surprise twist it's Tony who's the hurt one this time. But that doesn't hinder him to take care of Stephen in his own, special way. 😉

The penthouse was pitch black when Stephen came home. All the windows where tinted to not even let a little bit of ambient light through, each and every light source was off - there wasn't even a standby light in sight.

Without his magic he would have been blind. He still conjured a small flame to feel more normal as he navigated his way through the living room after discarding his shoes.

"FRIDAY?" he asked softly, already dreading the answer. "Where is Tony?"

"Boss is in the bedroom."

"Sleeping?"

FRIDAY's uncharacteristic long pause confirmed his worst fears. "No, Doctor Strange. He's not."

Fuck. Stephen took a deep breath and forced his mindset from exhausted and just wanting to sleep into caretaking mode. Not a doctor, not yet, as long as he didn't know how bad it really was. "How long?"

Thankfully, Tony had allowed his AI to share everything with Stephen, even the most private things. "Almost a day." It was a gift a never appreciated more than in moments like this.

"Medication?"

"None so far. No alcohol either, I can assure you of that, Doctor."

Thank the Vishanti for small mercies. "Thank you, FRIDAY. I'll take over now."

Her soft "I'm glad you're home" was still echoing in his mind when he crossed over the threshold into their bedroom. He let the light die away and relied on his magic to find the way.

"Stephen?"

He could _hear_ the pain in that one word alone. "I'm here," he whispered into the dark. "What do you need? I can..."

Most of the time it was him who was incapacitated by pain but from time to time the stars aligned exactly the wrong way and all the abuse Tony's body had been put through flared up spectacularly.

Tony's migraines came without warning, were brutal and tended to wake up a lot of other problems Tony hid under sarcasm and nano-tech most of the time.

"It's not that bad." Stephen scoffed at having his own standard words thrown back at him. As much as he hated being in pain and helpless - he hated it even more when their roles were reversed. "Really," Tony insisted. He didn't sound like he wanted to die so that was better than Stephen had expected after FRIDAY's dire words. "I just moved the wrong way and…"

"Your chest then?" Stephen asked and dared to conjure a little bit of light again. Tony was on his back, head elevated by a couple of pillows, and the way he looked up at Stephen was adorable beyond words. "No migraine?"

There was a pained groan as Tony moved around to better face him but he looked into the magical flame without flinching. "I just moved the wrong way during training and now I'm paying the price. My head is okay for once. Or as okay as it ever will be," he quipped and gifted Stephen with a smile. "Hello, stranger. It's nice to have you home again." He moved as if to sit up but Stephen waved him back down.

"I'm glad to be home," he confessed. "I was worried when the lights were off." He settled down next to Tony on his side of the bed and leaned down for a kiss, grateful that he'd taken the time to shower and change into something comfortable before coming here.

"Hey, don't," Tony said as soon as he could. "My last migraine was ages ago, you know." Yes, two months was an age, but Stephen didn't say that out loud. "It just felt better that way. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Stephen echoed incredulously. "You can barely move and I'm not supposed to worry?" He put his hand over Tony's chest - right above the place where the arc reactor had once been, careful to not even put the slightest bit of pressure on it. He couldn't feel the scar tissue under Tony's shirt with his fingers but he knew how it looked and felt under his lips.

Tony put his own hand atop of Stephen's. "I'm okay Stephen." He grimaced. "Or I will be. You look dead on your feet. Come in here and sleep."

"Tony! No! I…" He shouldn't, he knew. He should portal back to the Sanctum or at least take the guest bedroom. The risk of hurting Tony in his sleep was too great.

"Stephen," Tony echoed, still holding on to his hand and using his free one to grab a fistful of Stephen's shirt to pull him down. "If you think that I'm letting you go now that I finally have you home you're even more insane than I know you to be. Bed. Now." He was smiling but there was that particular tone in his voice that meant that he wasn't kidding around. The tone that made senators and business rivals do what he wanted. This was the man even Thanos had respected in his own screwed up way.

Stephen gave in with as much grace as possible - mostly, because he was tired as hell and the prospect of sleeping alone wasn't a good one. "Okay." He sighed. "But…" _I'm going to stay on the far side of the bed_, he wanted to say but Tony didn't give him the chance to do so.

"No, you idiot. Right here were you belong."

As always, it took him a few moments to arrange his body comfortably and by the time he was on his right side, face turned towards Tony, there was no trace of the iron, just a gentle smile and no small amount of satisfaction. "Knew you couldn't resist me," Tony murmured amused.

"You're a menace, especially when you play it up like that," Stephen grumbled. Now that he was finally horizontal he just wanted so sleep and his eyes refused to stay open. Still, he followed the wordless request and moved himself closer until his forehead could touch Tony's shoulder. It wasn't cuddling, not really, but the closest they could get with Tony hurting like he was.

Or maybe not. Somehow, Tony still managed to put his arm around Stephen to hold him almost like usual. Stephen responded by offering his right hand. He patiently waited until Tony had entangled their fingers before he let the light fade away. _Just a few minutes_, he promised himself. _Then I move away._ Their joined hands rested low on Tony's stomach, far away from the horrors and hurts of his chest area.

"I'm already feeling better by having you here," Tony confessed into the darkness.

"You can sweet-talk me all you want, I'm still not letting you out of bed tomorrow," Stephen promised in return. The words warmed his heart but there was no reason to let Tony know that. He was glad that the darkness hid the undoubtedly silly grin on his face. He still pressed his face against Tony's arm. Just in case.

"Promises, promises." Tony was careful to not laugh but his amusement was clear. Stephen gave up and allowed himself to relax in their half-embrace, their fingers still entangled, with Tony's low "I'm looking forward to see you try" in his hear.

He would not only try but succeed, he knew. Tony could never resist him when he got all doctor on him.

"Watch me," he whispered, already more than half asleep, not hearing if Tony had yet another smartass comeback for him. He would hear it in the morning anyway, he knew, and looked forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> [@](https://amethyst-noir.tumblr.com/)


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